Arab Israeli arrested for driving on Jewish holiday

Israeli police arrested an Arab Israeli man who drove his car during the Yom Kippur holiday in an incident which sparked four nights of rioting in the northern town of Acre, police said on Tuesday.

"Tawfik Jamal was remanded in custody for three days for reckless endangerment and harming religious sensitivities," said police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld.

Jamal, who was detained on Monday night, had earlier apologised for driving on October 8 during the Yom Kippur Jewish holiday when virtually all of Israel respects a religious ban on driving and observant Jews fast and pray.

Arab-Israeli MP Ahmad Tibi sharply criticised the arrest.

"It is the first time anyone is arrested for harming religious sensitivities," he said, urging police to immediately release Jamal so as not to exacerbate tensions.

"Police caved in to pressure from the fascist right which demanded his arrest, demonstrating it is a Jewish, racist and idiotic police," Tibi told AFP.

"I wonder if the Israeli government will in future arrest Jews who eat or drink in mixed cities during Ramadan," he said in reference to the Muslim month of fasting.

At least three people were injured during the clashes that broke out after Tawfik drove through a conservative Jewish neighbourhood of Acre.

A group of Jewish youths assaulted him, accusing him of deliberately making noise and disrupting the sanctity of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.

Hundreds of Arabs then took to the streets, damaging around 100 cars and 40 shops, according to police. On the ensuing four nights, Jewish and Arab rioters clashed with each other and with police.

Tawfik on Sunday appeared before a parliamentary committee to say he regretted his "mistake".

"If what I did caused this, I am ready to sacrifice my neck right here on this table... just to return peace and quiet back to the city of Acre, to bring coexistence back to its place," he said.

Arabs with Israeli citizenship, the descendants of those who remained in the Jewish state after Israel gained independence in 1948, make up around 20 percent of the Israeli population.